P.A. loses lawsuit to halt sale of key Bayonne waterfront site

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey yesterday lost a bid to block the sale of valuable waterfront property in Bayonne to the nation’s largest terminal operator, dealing a blow to the bistate agency’s plans for expansion.

At a hearing in Jersey City yesterday afternoon, Superior Court Judge Thomas P. Olivieri dismissed a lawsuit brought by the P.A. against the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority (BLRA), which voided a contract last year to sell about 126 acres to the Port Authority for $50 million.

The Bayonne agency later agreed to sell the land to Ports America for $90 million. The Port Authority, which operates the third-busiest seaport in the coun try and is seeking to add space, had planned to use the property for an auto terminal. Ports America has said it plans to do the same.

The BLRA changed its decision on the Port Authority sale late last year after it was determined the initial vote was taken in violation of the Open Public Meetings Act, in essence giving the Bayonne agency a do-over — and a lucrative one at that.

Despite Port Authority protests, Olivieri yesterday ruled BLRA officials were within their legal rights to void the deal.

“We’re absolutely thrilled,” said Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone (D-Hudson), also a Bayonne councilman and a BLRA commissioner. “This is a great decision for us.”

Ports America officials have said they hoped the site — a former military terminal that juts into New York Bay — would be operational by this summer.

A Port Authority lawyer, Jeffrey Speiser, said the agency will appeal Olivieri’s ruling.

BY MARK MUELLER

The Star-Ledger